


A Wayward Son

by Strange and Intoxicating -rsa- (strangeandintoxicating)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, Mobsters or monsters?, Multi, Sex, This will be dark, Violence, Yakuza, and who doesn't love blood and gore, but it is a love story all in all, morally questionable
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2018-10-06 02:37:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10323692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangeandintoxicating/pseuds/Strange%20and%20Intoxicating%20-rsa-
Summary: "I would burn down all of Insomnia for you."Noctis Lucis Caelum, the heir of the Lucis Crime Family, is running away from a past that left Insomnia's Abyss and its people with a noose around their necks. Given a choice between family and morality, he has never known which side to choose.Ignis Scientia, the hitman  whose name is whispered from only dead men's lips, is running after Noctis. Given a choice between duty and Noctis, he has always known which side to choose.(Yakuza!inspired Ignoct)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A Wayward Son
> 
> By: Strange and Intoxicating -rsa-
> 
> Author Notes: I mentioned that I had a Yakuza-inspired fic planned for FFXV in honor of the fallen FF Versus XIII universe, and this is it. This going to be fun and gritty and dark, which is something I really enjoy writing. And surprise (actual shock!) this wasn't inspired at all by the kink meme!
> 
> Warning: Violence, Sex, Drugs (mentioned), Prostitution (mentioned), Death, etc. They're mobsters, what can I say?

 

**13 weeks after**

The theater smelled like stale popcorn and faded memories. It wasn't hard for Noctis to remember the first time they had met in the theater, though it seemed so long ago now.

Now… now everything felt like a dream, a sad state of affairs that left Noctis both depressed and terrified. It was like he was free-falling and he knew if he hit the ground, it would all be over. The way his soles stuck to the floor that probably hadn't gotten a good washing since his father had taken over most of Insomnia made Noctis almost smile. He could remember with a perfect clarity what Ignis said to him when they found the place-

No. It was best not to think about him, not then. Noctis needed more than that, he needed to refocus himself. He needed… fuck.

He knew what he needed and yet already knew that no matter how it went that things weren't going to change. How was he supposed to erase the last few weeks? How was he supposed to go back when he knew what waited for him?

Noctis placed his tray down into the cup holder on the other side and slid into the cool seat. His wallet chain caught on the busted gash in the side and it only took a solid yank to get it free. He didn't bother to try and fix it; the place was a shithole anyway. It always had been, and Noctis was positive it always would be.

Blue eyes flickered up to the screen, greeted by some small cartoon telling him to turn off his phone.

Hmph.

Noctis pulled out his new flip phone from his jacket pocket, a burner that Prompto had pulled out of the trunk of a half-dead tree a couple blocks west of his apartment, toying with the touchpad. It felt strange in his hands, so unlike his old iMoogle. Going from having the world at his fingertips to something that bit him and tried to take skin whenever he closed it… it was different.

The only thing of any personality was the small keychain at the bottom, a custom metal Carbuncle. He knew he should have tossed it (Six knew what the Glaive could bug, and Noctis really didn't want to find out) but… it was something that reminded Noctis of better times. Better days.

Kind of like the theater, if he thought about it.

They had found it when Noctis was sixteen, and it had become their place. It was only 10 gil a ticket and Noctis knew better than to drink the brown sludge that oozed out of the soda machine. The popcorn was stale and more than once, late at night, there were people who would sit in the back row giving one another handjobs through the opening scenes to the credits. The fact that he was one of the people doing it didn't quite factor into his opinion, but…

It reminded Noctis of the good times, the better times. The times when things weren't perfect, because there was nothing perfect about being the son of a mob boss, but… they were good.

He was good.

Well, _had_ been good.

Noctis's seat in the back was close enough to the locked from the inside exit that he felt the semblance of a shield between himself and the outside world. Gladio had always drilled that into his head: Never come off as unguarded. Never come off as weak. Never be in a position where your flank wasn't covered.

Resisting a snort, Noctis tried to will his body to relax as the light dimmed. The few bodies in the theater turned toward the screen, and Noctis ignored the smacking sounds from the other end of the theater. The lousy support made his shoulder ache, and he had to resist the urge to touch the still-tender and healing bullet wound on his back left shoulder.

Noctis swallowed when he saw the title card come up, some horror movie he was sure would be just as bad as they always were, and the light of the door cracked open and spilled out across the screen.

He didn't want to look, because if he looked it meant that his mask would fall from his face and shatter on the sticky ground. He knew it, he could feel it sliding off...

The body inched closer and up the slight incline. After a brief moment where the body stopped moving toward him (maybe it wasn't him, maybe it wasn't…) Noctis felt his gaze on him.

It was like a gentle caress, and Noctis gave into the sensation, closing his eyes to soak in the feeling.

Peculiar wasn't the best of words, but Noctis couldn't think of anything else when the man slipped between the rows and sat next to him. Noctis heard the sound of a popcorn bowl shuffling across a tray.

Noctis rested his hand on the arm rest, though his fingernails were busy digging into fabric, and opened his eyes. He took deep, carefully measured breaths, listening to the cacophony of sounds as the movie was thrust into a violent scene of zombie carnage.

"Ever the delight when you choose the film."

Noctis let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding through his nose. His upper lip quivered. "Sorry it isn't one of those period shitshows you like so much. The last one started an hour ago."

Ignis tsked. "Period dramas are highly undervalued, I would have you know."

Tears prickled at the corners of Noctis's eyes and he blinked, hard, until his sight cleared.

Almost. It was almost normal.

"Iggy…"

Noctis could feel Ignis turn his head to face him, but Noctis could only stare, half-entranced, at the screen. This was all… it was so much, and yet so little. After all of the shit, after all of the fighting and the dying and the-

No. He couldn't think about it. He couldn't.

"Noctis… please. Come home."

Ignis's words cut deep, a desperate note that was fleeting and yet spoke of the years of them together. Since they were children, it had always been Ignis and Noctis. Later, Gladio and even later Prompto would join the picture, but when Noctis had to think of time all he could see was the passing of years on Ignis's face.

"I… I can't. Not yet." His throat was dry and for a moment Noctis would have killed for one of the brown sludges from the theater. It would have ended this… this… this moment, at least.

Ignis sighed and turned to the movie. In the open they couldn't talk about the chasm between them, about the burning bridges, about what had happened that night…

"You and Prompto should move out soon from wherever you are located. We received news that they're sweeping District H tomorrow afternoon."

Noctis nodded. It was a good thing he and Prompto were holed up in some hooker's shack back in District B, but Noctis said nothing. Niflheim's men had already shown what they were willing to do to get him. If they tried to get the information from Ignis, it was better he didn't have anything to lead back to him…

_If they tortured Ignis._

"Come with me."

Noctis saw from the corner of his eye that Ignis pushed up his glasses, and it was what almost broke him. Such a casual move, such an Ignis move. He had to ground himself again, digging his nails in deeper.

"You know I cannot do that, Noctis."

The weight settled uncomfortably between his collarbones and it was hard for Noctis to breathe.

"You know why," Ignis began, but Noctis jerked his head to the side, finally seeing Ignis's profile.

Ignis turned his head away.

"You…"

"Don't say it, Noct."

Noctis let himself fall back into the chair, head hitting the back of his seat with a thump.

"This is my fault," Noctis whispered.

A warm, calloused hand tickled across the top of his hand and Noctis instinctively let go of the arm rest. The tips of his fingers and the soft, supple leather… it was heaven on Eos. It was more than he deserved.

"I'm a monster, Iggy."

Ignis rested his fingers between Noctis's, lacing them together. "This is not your fault, Noctis. If you believe nothing else of what we have ever spoken of, believe that. Your heart is true."

Noctis pulled in everything he could from the warmth of Ignis's hand. It was everything, a last bastion of hope, of humanity…

"Your father has had the Glaive looking through your old coordinates. I'm not sure if he'll connect this as a place of interest, though I doubt it will be a safe haven for us anymore."

Noctis knew that. Even calling Ignis to come had been risky, but he needed the man, he needed Ignis…

"I know. I just… I needed to see you."

Noctis turned when he felt Ignis's hand tighten around his. "And I, you, my Prince."

Noctis sat up in his chair and tightened his fingers around Ignis's, reaching out with his other hand to gently cup Ignis's left cheek. He gently turned the man's face, seeing the burns that had engulfed the left side of Ignis's face. The wound was still pink and raw, despite having been weeks since the attack. He ran his thumb across the marred skin at the edge of Ignis's cheekbone, stopping only when Ignis hissed.

"This is my fault. It's all my fault."

Ignis's one good eye stared back at him, and Noctis wondered how Ignis could look at him, to stare at the reason his face was like this.

How much did Ignis hate him? And could it possibly be as much as Noctis hated himself?

"I would do it again in a heartbeat," Ignis responded, pulling up their entwined hands. Noctis did not let out a sound, despite the pain in his aching shoulder as Ignis lifted his hand up. He rested Noctis's open palm to his lips, then over his left shirt pocket.

_"I would burn down all of Insomnia for you."_

Noctis closed his eyes and swallowed. He could feel the panic bubbling up again. The moments before everything had gone belly up, before he was running away from his father and Niflheim, before Ignis's eye… before… before…

It was too much, and Noctis allowed both hands to go limp, his right hand dropping away from Ignis's burned face.

Ignis closed his eyes for a moment before gently disentangling their hands. He was gentle with placing Noctis's arm back onto the armrest and placing his other hand in Noctis's lap.

Noctis allowed himself to be a rag doll in those moments, soaking in every touch… if it were the last time, if Noctis walked out of the theater and took a bullet to the back of his skull, he could at least remember what his hands felt like.

"I left the flowers, Iggy." He didn't know why, but he needed to say it. He had made Gladio swear on his life and honor as Shield to put the glass vase on Ignis's left. When he woke… when he woke, he wouldn't have Noctis, but he would have them.

"Rue, sweet briar, and forget me nots. Of course only you would make such a bouquet."

"Yeah I got the idea from the engagement book Lun-" Noctis bit his tongue.

"Lady Nox Fleuret chose well. She would have been pleased to know you used her gift."

Not now, not now. Noctis took in a deep breath, wishing for Ignis's warmth.

"Ignis.. please. Can we not talk about it? Ok?" Noctis wanted to reach out and take Ignis's hand and never let go, but it was at that moment that Ignis's pocket began to buzz, a so familiar melody playing through the theater.

"I…"

Noctis swallowed. "You need to take it. Don't let him know, he'll try to make me come back."

"He hadn't expected you would run from the hospital." Ignis reached into his pocket and hit the tab on the side of his phone, silencing Gladio's ringtone.

 _He didn't expect me to pull his gun on him either_ , Noctis wanted to reply with, but bit down on his lip to keep silent.

"If Gladio asks… tell him I'm sorry."

"For running away or dragging his boyfriend with you?"

"Just… tell him Prom's okay. We're both okay."

Ignis pushed up his glasses again and stood from his chair. He let his gaze, one-eyed and so scarred, linger on Noctis for another moment before reaching down to pick up the bucket of popcorn.

"I brought you a gift. Eat your fill, my Prince," Ignis said at last, handing the bucket to Noctis. "And be careful."

No "I love you"s. No tearful kisses. No begging. No goodbyes. It wasn't who they were, and never would be.

It couldn't be.

Watching him go was more painful than the bullet wound on his shoulder. He would have gladly taken another round in the other shoulder if it just kept Ignis with him…

But they both knew this wasn't how their story would go.

Noctis waited long after the movie theater emptied, grabbing the popcorn bucket Ignis had left for him.

He made his way past the glowing and flashing movie posters to the men's bathroom and locked himself in the nearest stall. Noctis dug his fingers in the stale popcorn, feeling it snap in his hands as he pulled out handful after handful. He tossed it toward the toilet, neglected pieces spilled out across the floor.

The baggie at the bottom had a loaded handgun and a stack of hundred gil notes thicker than his wrist. No note, no letter. Just like Ignis; no need for frills unless it was his baking...

Noctis dropped the bucket, letting the popcorn skitter across the ground in a wave of yellow. Quickly shoving the baggie into the inner pocket of his jacket, Noctis unlocked the door and made his way out of the theater. He carefully pulled his hood up halfway, eyeing the passersby. He didn't know all of the Nifs, but the Glaive…

He walked swiftly through the street and turned to look back at the theater, noting the black car parked to the side of the street. For one tense moment Noctis's blood ran cold and he could feel a fire building in his legs, but he could make out the tell-tale coif in the neon sign above.

The car wasn't running, just sitting patiently as it always did to make sure that Noctis ran into no issues.

"This isn't a goodbye," Noctis promised, though he was sure Ignis couldn't possibly be close enough to hear him, let alone see his face. "I promise."

Noctis nodded his head once and left stepped into the bowels of Insomnia's District C.


	2. Chapter 2

"Call me a hooker one more time you little shit and I'll shove my boot so far up your ass you'll be tasting leather."

"Oooh, kinky. Me likes."

Noctis slammed the door as loudly as he could, catching both Aranea and Prompto off guard. They were sitting in the living room, Prompto with a container of some kind of Altissian food all but crawling up from its cardboard depths. He had his fork half-raised to his lips as he avoided a kick from Aranea.

The woman was dressed up in her work clothes, leather and chains and Noctis was pretty sure some fluids he didn't want to think about smeared on the soles of her six-inch heels. She had one foot raised up, ready to kick in Prompto's blonde head, with the other propped up on her coffee table.

"Prince, remind your idiot friend I'm not a hooker."

Noctis looked at Prompto who was eying the leather heel with a mixture of awe and deep interest. "She's a dominatrix. She'll kick your ass in before she'd ever fuck you." To Noctis there wasn't much of a difference, but...

"Thank you. And don't think I won't. You two are little shits. Coming in my house, eating all my fucking food—" Aranea reached forward and grabbed the container of Altissian food from Prompto's hands, not bothering with to grab the fork. She using her fingers to get some of the sopping noodles, pinching them in Prompto's direction before leaning her head back and dropping them into her mouth. She chewed for a minute before continuing. "—and you got no respect for me and my profession. I should kick your ass."

"Don't offer him that, 'Nea. Prom's one kinky bastard. He may actually get off on it."

Prompto wiggled his eyebrows, and Aranea smacked him.

"Oww, that hurt!"

"No, it didn't. Trust me, you'd know if it did."

The two continued to bicker as Noctis pulled off his shoes, hissing when he came back up. The pull in his shoulder made his entire body feel a thousand times worse; he should have stayed at the hospital for a few more days, but with how everything had gone down.... There just hadn't been a choice.

It had been healing up fine enough until it _wasn't_.

"Your shoulder again?"

Noctis looked up at Prompto, whose face had been overtaken by a rather somber expression. "Yeah. I think the infection might be back."

Aranea sighed when both men looked at her. She scrunched up her face for a moment before sighing and plopping the container of Altissian food into Prompto's lap. "Fine. Call Cindy and tell her to swing by. I don't need you dying in my apartment. You still haven't paid up rent yet."

Noctis reached into his pocket and pulled out some cash, holding it out to her between two fingers. "This should be enough, right?"

Aranea eyed it. "Where'd you get that?"

"Holy shit, Noct. Did you rob a liquor store or something?"

Noctis shook his head and shoved the rest of the cash back in his pocket. "Nah. I... I saw Iggy today."

Aranea quirked her eyebrow. "You went and saw Iggy?"

Noctis nodded and slowly eased his way into the beat-up recliner opposite the two. "Yeah... he's... he's doing okay."

He wasn't doing okay. There was nothing okay with any of this, Noctis wanted to scream. But he bit it down and looked at his two friends who were sharing a glance. He wondered if they knew he could see.

"Well, tell Iggy next time that he should pay me more for babysitting you." But her words, despite the sharpness, were full of light.

"....I'll let him know."

Aranea looked down at her nails and then back to Noctis. "Look. I'll call Cindy, but remember that I've got two rules in my house—"

"Don't fuck on your couch and no drugs in the house. Yeah, I know."

"So I don't care if Cindy promises that she's got something real special that'll make your orgasm a bucket of cum and make all your holes disappear. I swear I'll kick your ass. And then I'll call her over and kick her ass. Keep that shit out of my house."

Prompto interrupted. "Aranea, don't you think you're being a little harsh? Cindy's only doing her best—"

"My house, my rules. If she wants to swipe pills from the hospital, she's more than welcome to. I'm not going to be sharing my bed with a pill pusher." There was a harsh sound to her voice that Noctis knew only ever came out when they were talking about Cindy.

Usually it was best to not talk about Cindy. Though they had know each other for years, Noctis had never known just how turbulent the relationship between the two women was.... Especially considering Cindy's newer job of sneaking pills from the local Insomnia Charity Hospital. Aranea had thrown Cindy out without so much as a look back, though now that he was looking at the silver-haired women he could see the black under her eyes and the tired pull at her lips.

"Fine. No pills from Cindy. Just a shot of penicillin to the ass. Promise."

Aranea nodded and pushed herself to her feet. "Fine then. I've gotta get to work. Try to be useful and clean up this place." She edged a stack of books near the edge of the couch. "I swear, my apartment's been taken over by a bunch of bachelors. I thought being a lesbian would have saved me from this kinda shit."

"Way harsh, 'Nea!"

The woman shrugged and ran a hand over her black leather bustier. "That's kinda the point." She pulled out her phone and tapped in her pin before looking back to Noctis. "I've got to get over to the club for my shift. Try not to burn down my house."

When Aranea left, Noctis picked himself up from the creaky chair and allowed himself to sink into the sofa next to Prompto. He took the food from where it rested, reaching over to pull the fork from Prompto's hand.

His best friend didn't complain as Noctis spun the fork around and around.

Prompto's voice was soft when he finally spoke up. "You... you need to talk about it?"

Noctis didn't look up at his best friend, instead allowing himself to tap out the constant rhythm of metal clicking against cardboard.

"Iggy said that Gladio's doing well."

"Oh... oh. That's.... that's good."

He wanted to apologize to his best friend for taking him away, for pulling Prompto into this like he always did. Prompto, whose head always seemed straight on his shoulders, only ever got into trouble when it was Noctis doing the pulling. It had been that way since they had met in elementary school. Even bonding over animals and video games, there had always been that ever-present knowledge that Prompto was supposed to be normal.

Noctis.... Noctis would never be normal.

"How's Iggy?"

"He... His eye's gone."

Prompto let out a breath. "Oh. Man. That's.... I'm sorry."

Noctis pulled up the fork and looked at the noodles, sighed, and put the container down on the table. "He asked me to go home."

Asking Noctis to go home, to go back there... After everything that had happened, after all of the blood and the death that he had caused.

Noctis closed his eyes and thought back to that day, thirteen weeks before. He wished that he could block it all out. The beautiful blue flower petals littering the white carpet, the hauntingly beautiful chorus in the background of the church, the soft breathes and even softer touches. He could remember the way Ignis's hand brushed ever so gently against his as the both turned to look down the aisle.

She had been beautiful, her white dress fluttering in the breeze.

Bang. Bang.

Screams.

Red.

Noctis shook his head and forced his eyes back open, feeling the pain intensify in his shoulder.

There weren't words that could fix this. Nothing would ever fix this.

They stayed in silence until there was a soft rapping at the door, and thankfullyy Prompto was willing to get up and answer it.

"Hey, ya'll... 'Nea asked me to stop by and check on the Prince?"

"Yeah. Come in, Cindy. You're looking real pretty today."

"Aw, ain't you just a peach." Noctis turned to see Cindy shut the door and slam her hand down the set of door locks. She was quick with bolting them down, almost like second nature. She even managed to make the last one lock, which caused Prompto to nearly faint in shock.

"Holy crap! I've been trying to do that for _weeks_."

The smile on Cindy's face fell. "Yeah... just gotta shimmy the lock to the left."

Of course she knew how to lock the door to her own damn apartment. Prompto seemed to realize his mistake as well, though though he decided it was in his best interest to clamp his mouth shut instead of replying.

Cindy had her blonde hair pulled back in a high pony-tail, her bright yellow nurse scrubs making her face even brighter. There was a red badge around her neck, the lanyard dotted with colorful pins with pictures of famous cartoon characters and inspirational quotes to tell Noctis what a good boy he was and how he was going to be a good fighter.

It was difficult, even after listening to Aranea rant about her for the last several weeks like a broken record, to think of Cindy as anything but a lovely lady... who also had sticky fingers when involved with her hospital's pharmacy.

The woman cocked her head to the side as she inspected the apartment, though thankfully she said nothing about the pizza boxes stacking up like sky-scrapers or the dozens of half-drank cans of cola and beer that were like ill-placed dominoes only waiting for an accidental kick. It probably infuriated her to see her old apartment a hovel, but...

Things hadn't been easy over the last few weeks, and.... cleaning.... it hadn't been something particularly high on Noctis's list. Laying in bed, staring at the pale green walls that only reminded him even more about Ignis's eyes. Ignis's stolen eye...

"Hey, Cindy..."

"Hey, Prince. 'Nea told me your shoulder's acting up, so," she lifted up a little kit, shaking the plastic. Something rattled inside. "Gotta check and see how it's doing."

"Think you're gunna need to cut it off?" Prompto asked as Noctis followed the woman into the kitchen which was perhaps the cleanest room in the house, if not for the thin film of dust on the stove.

"Let's hope not. I don't have enough morphine for that."

Cindy put the kit on the table and slipped it open, gesturing for Noctis to remove of his shirt and take a seat on the pink leather stool. He did as he was told, listening to Cindy snap the gloves over her hands and very gently rest her hand against the middle of his back. He leaned down toward his knees to give her further access.

Prompto hissed.

"That bad, huh?"

Cindy tsked. "Some of the fragments are coming to the surface. We're going to need to take them out..."

Noctis felt a dull pinching to the junction between his shoulder blades. "Well, not like we've got a choice."

Cindy responded, "No. Unfortunately not, Prince. If we leave them in there they'll definitely get infected. I've got the tools and some medication, but you're still gunna be feeling this."

Noctis leaned up enough to look at Prompto and then to Cindy. "Aranea said she'd throw us out if you gave me drugs."

"Oh. Did she." Cindy pursed her lips. "Then... Prompto. I'm going to need your belt."

"Why?"

"Because Mr. Ashburn next door'll call the police if he hears screaming again."

"Again?"

"Oh, sweetie, you think Aranea is _quiet?_ "

Noctis snorted and then let out out a low groan as he felt leather slide between this teeth.

"This is probably going to ruin your tattoos, Noctis. I'm sorry. You sure you don't want some morphine?" She waited for a moment, gently letting her fingers run across the place where Noctis knew his family's emblem sat between his shoulders. The skull of Etro...

Noctis shook his head and tried to say something, but the tang of Prompto's belt buckle and the sudden sharp stabbing in his shoulder filled everything with red.


	3. Chapter 3

White. 

Noctis didn't want to open his eyes, not when all he could see behind his lids was such a clear, beautiful and pure white. It was something he barely remembered, having grown up in the Lucis Caelum house, surrounded by black. He had been told so many times as a child that his mother's family colors had been white, but it was easy to forget when surrounded by nothing but death.

 

There was something so beautiful in white, and maybe that was why he had accepted the peace treaty and the wedding. Even if he didn't love her, never would have loved her like she deserved, Noctis knew that he could have tried. He could have brought the Lucis Caelum family and the Nox Fleuret family together. It wouldn't have been black and white, and wouldn't have been perfect, but it would have been gray.

Gray.... gray was reality. It was living in a world where they sky was hazy, the people were cruel, but brides still wore white on their wedding days. It was a world where the sanctity of a church was still respected. It was a world where the only thing he was supposed to worry about was whether or not he put the ring on at the right time or if he accidentally allowed his forced smile to slip down his face.

Noctis shouldn't have been worried about guns, about flying bullets, about flames. Not on his wedding day.

But that was what it had become, and no amount of white would ever give him peace again.

Still, Noctis thought as he felt the blissful touch of unconsciousness pulling at his strings, he could almost see his father in the church. He could almost see Ignis. He could almost see Lu—

"Noct, buddy? C'mon, wake up. You're scaring the lady with the big needle."

Noctis wanted to hide in that whiteness for just a moment longer, but he could already see it fading out like a polaroid picture, the edges turning into soft shades and shapes. It was only a matter of moments before it was all gone, before the truth was revealed.

"Wake up, man. C'mon—wake up!"

Noctis groaned as his entire body seemed to shake in Prompto's hands, and he groaned again as he batted away his friend's next grab.

"Oh, good. You're not dead. Whew." Noctis felt a pulling at his teeth and he instinctively opened his mouth, noting how his jaw creaked and Prompto made a groan. He must have put a nasty set of toothmarks into Prompto's belt, but it was his fault for putting it in Noctis's mouth in the first place.

"Fuck off," Noctis managed, but his mouth felt like cotton balls had taken up residence between his teeth and his entire back felt like it was on fire.

"Looks like you're doin' okay, hun?"

Noctis didn't want to open his eyes and look up at Cindy and her too-cheerful scrubs and her bright smile. He definitely didn't want to have a peak at her nursing kit or the narcotics that would make the desire to puke from the pain fade a little bit.

Eventually Noctis managed to blink the white away from his eyes, noting that he had somehow managed to get from the kitchen over to the couch, where he found himself turned on his stomach. He didn't remember much other than the lancing pain making its way up his shoulder and straight to the back of his skull. Still, Noctis was grateful that he was still breathing and though the pain in his shoulder hurt like a motherfucker, at least when he moved his shoulders there wasn't the tell-tale scream of infection and metal pressing up against his skin.

"You'll be out for a while. No leaving the house, no running around. Y'all hear me? Just take your medicine like a good boy an' I'll make sure 'Nea gives you some painkillers."

Noctis wanted to fight with her, remind her that Aranea had kicked her out because of said painkillers, but he was stopped by the hand pressing against the center of his back. He groaned and allowed his chest to fall back onto the couch, enjoying the touch far more than he should have. It had been so long since someone had touched him just to give comfort. Noctis wished he could have leaned more into that gentle caress, but it was gone nearly the moment his head hit the throw pillow.

"And y'all better clean this mess up. Prompto, darlin', no one's looking for you. The least you can do is take out the trash. Dunno how Aranea lives with a buncha bachelors. She became a lesbian to avoid that kinda thing, y'know."

Noctis would have laughed, but in that moment all he wanted to focus on was comfort..... and the comfort pulled its hand away, tapping him once on his opposite shoulder before the door unlocked. 

"And Noctis—I'm real sorry about Lady Lunafreya and your wedding... Just know that all of Insomnia's with you. Lady Lunafreya was a good person... you both deserved better." Cindy paused for a second, her voice filling with an emotion Noctis knew too well. "I...I miss her a lot, and so do the kids. The hospital's not the same without her. Too quiet." With that and the click of the door, the apartment was met with silence once again.

Noctis tried to think about a time where he had felt more alone, but there was nothing. Not even after his mother's death had he felt so alone.

"Noct, you're gunna be okay," Prompto said from the void above his head. "We just gotta pull through this together."

Pull through it together... How was Noctis supposed to pull through it when he didn't even know what together meant anymore?

"You just rest. I'll try to make this place livable, eh?"

Noctis allowed himself a few minutes of rest before pulling himself up off the couch and gingerly making his way to the kitchen. Prompto had taken both Aranea and Cindy's words to heart. He had a pair of pink rubber gloves pulled up to his elbows as he cleaned the living room, dumping the still half-full cans down the sink. He made a particularly awful face when something caught itself inside one of the cans, and he had to give it a good shake to free it.

Whatever it was plopped into the kitchen sink and Prompto's face turned an ashy color. Noctis wondered if it looked anything like his own face.

"Oh, ewwwww."

"It's not that bad."

"So says the guy who hasn't cleaned anything, ever." Prompto made a face as whatever monster that had grown inside the can swirled down the drain. "Didn't you have, like, people to do this when you were living at the Citadel?"

Noctis tried to shrug, but the pain that laced its way up his shoulder made him stop mid-movement. Words, then. "Yeah, but I lived on my own..."

"Even then, you had Igni—" Prompto slammed his lips closed. "Sorry, Noct."

Noctis sighed and took a seat on the pink leather stool, staring at the cheery yellow walls for a moment before looking down at the white and pink checkered linoleum floor. It was so kitschy, so opposite of Aranea and so like Cindy that if felt wrong that the woman was no longer there.

It made him think of his own apartment; was Ignis still living there? Had he changed out the flowers on the kitchen counter, like he always did? Had he crept into their bed and laid down, pulling Noctis's pillow close, burying his head in the fabric as a small comfort?

Even if he had married Luna, she would have never stayed there. It was Noctis and Ignis's home. It was their place. It was their world. It was _theirs._

But things were different now. Luna was dead, her white wedding dress stained red. Noctis had taken a bullet straight through his shoulder, but she had taken the rest. He could still see her and her blue syleeblossoms strewn across the floor, her thin frame reaching out to him as she bled to death. He could see the pearls around her neck and the bullet hole torn straight through her throat. She looked so scared, so afraid. And Noctis could only stare in horror as the flames licked at what was left.

And Ignis...

Noctis remembered the fire, all-consuming and ferocious. He didn't know for sure, but the last thing Noctis heard before he left the hospital was that the Nifs had decided to bar the doors and throw in the fire. To dare desecrate a Church of Etro in such a way was more than blasphemy, but the Nfs never cared about insulting the gods. They were nothing but filthy heathens....

To kill a bride on her wedding day...

To steal Ignis's eye...

_"I would burn down all of Insomnia for you."_

Part of Noctis wanted to fight, wanted to keep going until there was nothing left and he had destroyed the world. But he knew that it wasn't what Luna wanted... It was never what he wanted, either.

They wanted to be better than their parents. It was why they had agreed to the wedding, to tie their families together. It would have brought some measure of peace to the city and the country. It was supposed to be like what happened after Noctis's father married his mother, a Niflheim woman.

 

But Nifs didn't want peace. They just wanted blood.

But Noctis.... Noctis couldn't do more blood. He couldn't do more death.

He was done. He had to be done.

Otherwise... Nothing would be safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Ooooh, intrigue! Suspense! Pain! Forbidden romance! 
> 
> Let's see how this goes! Let me know what you think! Thank you guys so much.


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